Adhesive brassiere and its manufacturing method

ABSTRACT

The object of the present invention is to provide an adhesive brassiere and a method of producing the same. The method includes molding a breast-like film made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), placing the molded film in a mold for molding brassiere cups, pouring an adhesive silicone composition in the mold, and heating the adhesive silicone composition. The adhesive brassiere removably adheres to a breast without shoulder straps and wings, and a user can easily wear and remove it. Additionally, unlike a conventional adhesive brassiere, since a portion of the adhesive brassiere of the present invention, coming into contact with the breast, does not consist of a film structure but a bulk structure, its life is semi-permanent.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates, in general, to a brassiere and, moreparticularly, to an adhesive brassiere, which adheres to a woman'sbreast so as to make her breast look capacious and beautiful.

BACKGROUND ART

In our time, an Occidental standard of beauty has led to an increasedpreference for a capacious breast, bringing about frequent plasticsurgeries on the breast so as to make the breast large. However, inrecent years, women are apt to avoid plastic surgery because of a worryabout side effects of the surgery, and thus, use of various functionalbrassieres capable of making the breast look capacious and beautiful isgrowing as an alternative proposal.

There are many types of the functional brassieres. Particularly, since asilicone material has excellent temperature properties, flexibility, anddensity, it has been already adopted as a material of the brassiere.

FIGS. 1 a and 1 b schematically illustrate a conventional brassiere.Referring to FIG. 1 a, the brassiere 100 includes a silicone pack 20, inwhich a silicone composition is stuffed in a pack made of a film, suchas polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyester, and innerand outer cloths 12, 11 covering the silicone pack 20. Hence, theconventional brassiere serves to make a user's breast to look large whena user wears it as shown in FIG. 1 b.

Meanwhile, one of current functional brassieres is an adhesive brassieredirectly adhering to a breast without straps, unlike a typicalbrassiere. The adhesive brassiere includes an outer shell made ofthermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), a silicone composition stuffed intothe outer shell, and an adhesive silicone film formed on a portion of anouter side of the outer shell, coming into contact with the breast. FIG.2 schematically illustrates such a conventional adhesive brassiere. Inthis regard, the silicone composition 24 is stuffed into the outer shell22 made of a TPU material, and a silicone adhesive layer 26 with apredetermined thickness is formed on a portion of the outer side of theouter shell 22, which comes into contact with the breast. A user justadheres the conventional adhesive brassiere to her own breast to wearthe brassiere. The conventional adhesive brassiere has a simplestructure without straps, and the user can easily use and remove it.

With reference to FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, the conventional functionalbrassiere, which adopts only the silicone pack, must be provided withsupplementary structures, such as shoulder straps and wings, as well asbrassiere cups.

Meanwhile, the conventional functional adhesive brassiere as shown inFIG. 2 has a structure in which the silicone composition is completelycovered with TPU and the adhesive layer is applied in a form of film ona surface of a portion of TPU, that is, a portion of the brassierecoming into contact with a user's breast. Therefore, adhesive strengthof the brassiere is gradually reduced according to an abrasion of theadhesive layer, and thus, after the brassiere is repeatedly worn apredetermined number of times, the brassiere cannot fulfill its functionbecause of the reduced adhesive strength. Hence, when the adhesive layerof the brassiere is abraded, a life of the brassiere is ended eventhough the remaining portions constituting the brassiere are in perfectorder.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind theabove problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the presentinvention is to provide an adhesive brassiere, which is removably wornon a user by adhesion, thus being used without supplementary structures,such as shoulder straps or wings, of FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, and which can besemi-permanently used unlike a conventional adhesive brassiere of FIG.2. In other words, the adhesive brassiere of the present invention has asignificantly improved structure, in comparison with the conventionaladhesive brassiere, to maintain desired adhesive strength even though itis repeatedly used many times, and thus, the adhesive brassiere of thepresent invention can be semi-permanently used.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention providesan adhesive brassiere, which includes a first bulk structure made of anadhesive silicone composition. An outer film covers an outer surface ofthe first bulk structure, and a second bulk structure is formed in thefirst bulk structure made of the adhesive silicone composition. In thisrespect, the first bulk structure is of a woman's breast-like shape withits inside being hollowed like a bowl, the outer film adheres to theouter surface of the first bulk structure, and the second bulk structureis made of a material with a lower specific gravity than the adhesivesilicone composition constituting the first bulk structure.

Furthermore, the present invention provides an adhesive brassiere, whichincludes a first bulk structure made of an adhesive siliconecomposition. An outer film covers an outer surface of the first bulkstructure. In this regard, the first bulk structure is of a woman'sbreast-like shape with its inside being hollowed like a bowl, and theouter film adheres to the outer surface of the first bulk structure.

Additionally, the present invention provides a method of producing anadhesive brassiere, which includes molding an outer film, placing themolded outer film in a mold for molding brassiere cups, pouring anadhesive silicone in the mold in which the outer film is placed, moldingthe adhesive silicone into a predetermined shape, and hardening theadhesive silicone.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of thepresent invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 a and 1 b illustrate a conventional brassiere adopting asilicone pack;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a conventional adhesive brassiere;

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate adhesive brassieres according to the first andsecond embodiments of present invention, respectively;

FIGS. 5 a to 5 d illustrate a production of the adhesive brassiereaccording to the present invention;

FIGS. 6 a to 6 c illustrate a production of the conventional adhesivebrassiere; and

FIGS. 7 a to 7 d illustrate the adhesive brassiere according to thepresent invention, which is provided with links.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Reference should now be made to the drawings, in which the samereference numerals are used throughout the different drawings todesignate the same or similar components.

FIG. 3 illustrates an adhesive brassiere according to the firstembodiment of the present invention. An outer film 30 forms an outerpart of the brassiere. The outer film 30 is typically made ofthermoplastic urethane (TPU) and the like, and has a shape correspondingto a woman's breast. In this regard, the outer film 30 may be made of athermoplastic resin, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, vinyl chlorideresin, vinyl acetate resin, polystyrene, ABS resin, and acryl resin, aswell as TPU. A first bulk structure 32 made of an adhesive siliconecomposition is formed on a rear surface of the outer film 30. Adhesivesilicone or the adhesive silicone composition is known in the art, andis used in conjunction with a plasticizer and the like. Furthermore,commercial pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSA) may be used as theadhesive silicone composition. The first bulk structure is of a woman'sbreast-like shape with its inside being hollowed like a bowl.Optionally, the first bulk structure may be further hollowed at aportion thereof which comes into contact with a woman's nipple. Theadhesive silicone composition of the first bulk structure adheres to theouter film 30 to be combined with the outer film 30. In this respect,after the outer film 30 is molded and placed in a mold for molding thesilicone composition, the adhesive silicone composition is poured on themolded outer film 30, molded, and heated to be hardened. Through thehardening process, adhesive components of the adhesive siliconecomposition firmly adhere to the outer film 30, thereby stronglyadhering the first bulk structure 32 made of the silicone composition tothe outer film 30. Unlike a commonly accepted idea in the art, in thepresent invention, only a half of an external surface of such a siliconecomposition structure, that is, a front part of the silicone compositionstructure is covered with the outer film 30, but its rear part is not.Additionally, the silicone composition bulk structure has adhesivestrength. In other words, unlike a conventional adhesive brassiere, onlya front surface of the silicone structure comes into contact with theouter film 30, but a rear surface of the silicone structure is exposedand directly comes into contact with the woman's breast. Meanwhile, asecond bulk structure 34, made of a material having a lower specificgravity than the adhesive silicone, such as a sponge, may be containedin the first bulk structure 32 made of the adhesive siliconecomposition. The second bulk structure 34 contributes to weightreduction of the brassiere, thereby reducing discomfort due to a weightof the brassiere when a user wears the brassiere. Of course, the secondbulk structure 34 may have various shapes and sizes.

FIG. 4 illustrates an adhesive brassiere according to the secondembodiment of present invention. An outer film 30 forms an outer part ofthe brassiere. The outer film 30 is typically made of TPU and the like.A first bulk structure 32 made of the adhesive silicone composition isformed on a rear side of the outer film 30, and the adhesive siliconecomposition of the first bulk structure 32 adheres to the outer film 30to be combined with the outer film 30. In this regard, an antibioticdeodorant 38 is applied on a portion of a rear side of the first bulkstructure, and preferably on its center coming into contact with thewoman's nipple. Needless to say, an amount of the antibiotic deodorantis properly controlled so as not to reduce adhesive strength. Thebrassiere according to the second embodiment may further include thesecond bulk structure as shown in FIG. 3.

In the case of producing the adhesive brassiere of FIG. 3, the outerfilm made of TPU is molded into a predetermined shape as shown in FIG. 5a. Subsequently, the molded outer film 52 is placed in a mold formolding brassiere cups as shown in FIG. 5 b. A predetermined amount ofadhesive silicone 54 is then poured on the outer film 52 as shown inFIG. 5 c. Successively, the adhesive silicone 54 is molded into apredetermined shape as shown in FIG. 5 d, and hardened at apredetermined temperature to maintain the shape of the adhesive silicone54.

The production process of the brassiere according to the presentinvention as shown in FIGS. 5 a to 5 d is greatly simplified incomparison with that of the conventional adhesive brassiere as shown inFIG. 2. As for the production of the conventional adhesive brassiere ofFIG. 2, after two TPU films are molded into an inner film 62 and anouter film 64 and lapped as shown in FIG. 6 a, they are attached to eachother at rims thereof while leaving an opening 68 to form a bag made ofthe TPU films as shown in FIGS. 6 b and 6 c. FIG. 6 b is a sectionalview of the bag, and FIG. 6 c is a plan view of the bag. Subsequently, apredetermined amount of silicone is injected into the bag. The resultingbag is molded using a mold for molding brassiere cups, and hardened at apredetermined temperature to maintain a predetermined shape of silicone.Portions of the TPU films, which correspond to the opening 68, are thenattached to each other while the silicone is contained in the bag.Successively, an adhesive silicone layer is formed on a surface of theinner film, coming into contact with the breast. To sum up, a method ofproducing the conventional adhesive brassiere comprises additionalsteps, that is, an attachment between the rims of the TPU films, anattachment between portions of the TPU films, corresponding to theopening, and a formation of the adhesive silicone layer, in comparisonwith a method of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 5 a to 5 d. Inother words, the conventional method further comprises three steps incomparison with the method of the present invention.

FIGS. 7 a to 7 d illustrate the adhesive brassiere according to thepresent invention, which is provided with links. A pair of brassierecups as shown in FIGS. 3 or 4 are connected to each other by the links.The adhesive brassiere as described above functions to gather and pushup breasts.

FIG. 7 a illustrates the adhesive brassiere of the present invention,which is provided with first and second links 72, 74. The first andsecond links 72, 74 help to gather and push up the breasts. A secondpart 89 of the second link 74 is downwardly moved along a first part 88of the first link 72 while the second link 74 is at right angles to thefirst link 72 to engage the first part 88 of the first link 72 with thesecond part 89 of the second link 74, and the first and second links 72,74 are then unfolded so that the first link 72 is at an angle of 180degrees to the second link 74 to lock protrusions 85, 87 in holes 86,84, respectively. FIG. 7 b illustrates the adhesive brassiere of thepresent invention, in which the first and second links 72, 74 of FIG. 7a are completely coupled with each other. In the case of separating thetwo links 72, 74 from each other, after the two links are positioned tobe at right angles to each other, the second part 89 of the second link74 is upwardly moved along the first part 88 of the first link 72according to a procedure contrary to the case of the coupling of the twolinks, thereby completing the separation of the two links.

FIG. 7 c illustrates the adhesive brassiere of the present invention,which is provided with third and fourth links 100, 102. Like the case ofthe first and second links 72, 74, a fourth part 95 of the fourth link102 is downwardly moved along a third part 94 of the third link 100while the fourth link 102 is at right angles to the third link 100 toengage the fourth part 95 with the third part 94, and the third andfourth links 100, 102 are then unfolded so that the third link 100 is atan angle of 180 degrees to the fourth link 102 to firmly lock the fourthlink 102 into the third link 100 as shown in FIG. 7 d. In addition tothe links as shown in FIGS. 7 a to 7 d, commercially known links may beapplied to the adhesive brassiere of the present invention.

A method of producing the adhesive brassiere of FIGS. 7 a to 7 d is thesame as that of FIGS. 5 a to 5 d with the exception of the methodaccording to FIGS. 7 a to 7 d further including attaching layers,provided with the links, to the outer film after the outer film ismolded.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendisclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions arepossible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventionas disclosed in the accompanying claims.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, the present invention provides an adhesivebrassiere, which removably adheres to a breast without shoulder strapsand wings, and thus, a user can easily put on and remove the adhesivebrassiere. Additionally, unlike a conventional adhesive brassiere, sincea portion of the adhesive brassiere of the present invention, cominginto contact with the breast, does not consist of a film structure but abulk structure, a reduction of a life of the brassiere is not caused byan abrasion of an adhesive layer of the brassiere even though the userrepeatedly puts on and removes the adhesive brassiere, and thus, itslife is semi-permanent.

Furthermore, a method of producing the adhesive brassiere according tothe present invention is very simple because a two stage film attachingstep and an adhesive silicone layer forming step can be omitted, unlikea conventional method.

1. An adhesive brassiere, comprising: a first bulk structure made of anadhesive silicone composition; an outer film covering an outer surfaceof the first bulk structure; and a second bulk structure formed in thefirst bulk structure made of the adhesive silicone composition, wherein,the first bulk structure is of a woman's breast-like shape with itsinside being hollowed like a bowl, the outer film adheres to the outersurface of the first bulk structure, and the second bulk structure ismade of a material with a lower specific gravity than the adhesivesilicone compositions constituting the first bulk structure.
 2. Anadhesive brassiere, comprising: a first bulk structure made of anadhesive silicone composition; and an outer film covering an outersurface of the first bulk structure, wherein, the first bulk structureis of a woman's breast-like shape with its inside being hollowed like abowl, and the outer film adheres to the outer surface of the first bulkstructure.
 3. The adhesive brassiere as set froth in claim 1, wherein anantibiotic deodorant is applied on at least a portion of a rear side ofthe first bulk structure.
 4. An adhesive brassiere, comprising: a pairof brassiere cups constituting the adhesive brassiere of claim 1; andlinks provided at the brassiere cups, wherein, the links are coupledwith each other to connect the brassiere cups to each other.
 5. A methodof producing an adhesive brassiere, comprising: molding an outer film;placing the molded outer film in a mold for molding brassiere cups;pouring an adhesive silicone in the mold in which the outer film isplaced; molding the adhesive silicone into a predetermined shape; andhardening the adhesive silicone.
 6. The adhesive brassiere as set frothin claim 2, wherein an antibiotic deodorant is applied on at least aportion of a rear side of the first bulk structure.
 7. An adhesivebrassiere, comprising: a pair of brassiere cups constituting theadhesive brassiere of claim 2; and links provided at the brassiere cups,wherein, the links are coupled with each other to connect the brassierecups to each other.